Disk cartridge and data medium having same

ABSTRACT

A disk cartridge and data recording/reproducing medium are disclosed The disk cartridge includes: a disk housing including a disk receiving unit for rotatably receiving a disk and an opening portion formed at a portion corresponding to a hub of the disk and formed where a pickup unit for recording/reproducing data to/from the disk while being rotationally moved on the disk moves; and a shutter for opening and shutting the opening portion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a disk cartridge and data recording/reproducing medium having the same, and more particularly, to a disk cartridge that receives a disk for recording/reproducing a data by means of a pickup unit of swing-arm method and a data recording/reproducing medium.

[0003] 2. Description of the Background Art

[0004] To record/reproduce a large quantity of data, there are a method using optics, a method using a magnetism, a magneto-optical method using both the optics and magnetism, or the like. A recording/reproducing device using those methods records or reproduces data from a medium which records/reproduces a data.

[0005] The medium for recording/reproducing data includes a CD (Compact Disk), a DVD (Digital Video Disk), floppy disk, or an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) having an integrated recording/reproducing device.

[0006] The data medium is mounted at a mounting unit of the recording/reproducing device for recording/reproducing data to/from the data medium in order to record/reproduce data, and the data is recorded and/or reproduced onto/from the data medium by a typical pickup unit provided at the mounting unit.

[0007] In order to record/reproduce data to and from the data medium, the pickup unit moves on a recording surface of the data medium. The pickup unit moving method includes: a thread method where the pickup unit makes a linear reciprocal motion along a motion guide shaft; and a swing arm method where the pickup unit makes a rotational motion at a certain interval centering around a rotational shaft for generating a rotational force.

[0008] As the record capacity is growingly increased while the data medium is reduced in size. Accordingly, because the data medium is weak to a foreign material such as dust, the recording/reproducing surface of the data medium needs to be protected from the foreign material.

[0009] Thus, the data medium includes a disk, i.e. a medium for recording/reproducing data, and a disk cartridge, i.e. a disk protecting unit, for receiving the disk in a necessity of protection of the recording surface of the disk.

[0010] The structure of the disk cartridge preferably should be a structure of easily accessing the recording surface of the disk for recording/reproducing data.

[0011] In particular, in the case of the pickup unit of the swing-arm method that makes the rotational motion, the disk cartridge needs to have a structure that it does not interfere rotation of a swing arm.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a disk cartridge having such a structure preventing a foreign material from being introduced onto a medium and a pickup unit from being interfered, and a data medium having the disk cartridge.

[0013] To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a disk cartridge including: a disk housing having a disk receiving unit for rotatably receiving a disk and an opening portion formed at a portion corresponding to a hub of the disk and formed where a pickup unit for recording/reproducing data to/from the disk while being rotationally moved on the disk moves; and a shutter for opening and shutting the opening portion.

[0014] To achieve the above objects, there is also provided a recording medium having a disk and a disk cartridge, wherein the disk cartridge includes: a disk housing having a disk receiving unit for rotatably receiving a disk and an opening portion formed at a portion corresponding to a hub of the disk and formed where a pickup unit for recording/reproducing data to/from the disk while being rotationally moved on the disk moves; and a shutter for opening and shutting the opening portion.

[0015] The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention.

[0017] In the drawings:

[0018]FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a disk cartridge in accordance with the present invention;

[0019]FIG. 2 is a plan view of an upper plate of the disk cartridge of FIG. 1;

[0020]FIG. 3 is a plan view of a main body of the disk cartridge of FIG. 1;

[0021]FIG. 4 is a plan view of a lower plate with an auxiliary opening hole of the disk cartridge of FIG. 1;

[0022]FIG. 5 is a plan view of the shutter of the disk cartridge of FIG. 1;

[0023]FIG. 6 is a conceptual view showing who the disk cartridge of FIG. 1 is mounted in the mounting unit;

[0024]FIG. 7 is a conceptual view showing the disk cartridge that a shutter opening and shutting unit closes an opening portion; and

[0025]FIG. 8 is a conceptual view showing the disk cartridge that a shutter closes and opens with respect to a main body of the disk cartridge.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0026] Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

[0027] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 8, a disk cartridge includes: a disk housing 200 including a disk receiving unit 211 for rotatably receiving a disk 100 and an opening portion 221 formed at a portion corresponding to a hub 110 of the disk 100 and formed where a pickup unit 400 for recording/reproducing data to/from the disk 100 while being rotationally moved on the disk 100 moves; and a shutter 300 for opening and shutting the opening portion.

[0028] The disk cartridge of the present invention is principally used for a data medium for recording/reproducing device having a pick unit which makes a rotational motion, rather than a linear reciprocal motion, to record/reproduce data on a recording surface of the received disk 100.

[0029] In the disk cartridge, the opening portion 221 is formed to open a portion where the pickup unit 400 moves along and the hub 110 of the disk, so that when the pickup unit 400 is rotationally moved, it may not be interfered (the pickup unit is rotationally moved in a state of floating over the disk thanks to an air bearing effect in a ultra high density medium).

[0030] As shown in FIG. 2, the opening portion 221 has an outer contour including a hub section 221 a corresponding to the hub 110 of the disk 100, a linear section 221 b formed from the center (O) of the disk 100 to the side of the disk cartridge facing the pickup unit 400, a moving section 221 c having a proper profile so that the rotation of an end portion of the pickup unit 400 from the center (O) of the disk 100 may not be interfered, and a connection portion 221 d connecting the end of the moving section 221 c and the end of linear section 221 b.

[0031] The data medium having the disk cartridge of the present invention may be also constructed such that the linear section 221 b is formed extended with a certain distance in parallel from the center of the disk for a linear reciprocal motion of the pickup unit 400 so that the data medium can be also used for a data recording/reproducing device of thread method. Namely, the data medium having the disk cartridge of the present invention can be also used for the data recording/reproducing device using the swing-arm method as well as for the data recording/reproducing device using the thread method.

[0032] The disk 100 rotatably received in the disk housing 200 is a medium having a recording surface for recording/reproducing data.

[0033] The disk housing 200 includes: a main body 210 having an opening 211 in which the disk 100 is inserted, a lower plate 230 coupled at a lower surface of the main body 210 and an upper plate 220 coupled to an upper surface of the main body 210 and having the opening portion 221, as shown in FIG. 1.

[0034] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, at the side of the main body 210, a guide portion 212 is formed to guide movement of the shutter 300 and a shutter opening and shutting unit 310 is installed to open and shut a shutter 300 (to be described).

[0035] Preferably, the upper plate 220 has a step as thick as the shutter 300 corresponding to a plane outer line of the shutter 300 in order for the shutter 300 to accurately guide an opening position and a shutting position. Reference numerals 223 and 224 in FIG. 2 denote such steps, respectively.

[0036] The main body 210, the upper plate 220 and the lower plate 230 are made of plastic by injection molding, and the main body 210 and the lower plate 230 are preferably formed integrally for reducing the fabrication processes of the disk cartridge.

[0037] The disk cartridge may have a information tag unit 222 for indicating supplementary data (read only, writable, etc.) on the disk 100.

[0038] The hub 110 of the disk 100 is opened to rotate the disk 100 by being coupled to a rotation driving unit (not shown). As shown in FIG. 4, the disk cartridge of the present invention may additionally have an auxiliary opening portion 231 indicated as a dotted line at a portion corresponding to the hub 110 of the disk at the lower plate 230, in order to open both upper and lower sides corresponding to the hub 110 of the disk 100. Then, the shutter 300 may have a portion to open and shut the auxiliary opening portion 231, so that the opening portion 221 and the auxiliary opening portion can be simultaneously opened/closed together.

[0039] Referring to the main body 210, the side portion corresponding to the movement section of the pickup unit 400 is preferably formed as high as the recording surface of the disk 100 so that the main body 210 may interfere with the motion of the pickup unit 400 when the pickup unit 400 is moved in the vertical direction of the rotational shaft of the disk 100.

[0040] The disk housing 200 may further have a head parking unit 410 to allow a head of the pickup unit 400 to park thereon. As shown in FIG. 6, the head parking unit 410 is installed at one side of the main body 410.

[0041] The shutter opening and shutting unit 310 is installed at the disk housing 200 for moving the shutter 300 by interworking with a mounting unit (not shown) of the disk cartridge in order to open and shut the opening portion 221.

[0042] The shutter opening and shutting unit 310 includes an elastic member 311 applying a force to the shutter 300 in a direction that the opening portion 221 is opened; and an operation unit for moving the shutter 300 in an opening direction by interworking with the mounting unit when the disk cartridge is mounted on the mounting unit.

[0043] One end of the elastic member 311 is fixed at the disk housing 200, that is, at an elastic member fixing portion 312 of the main body and the other end thereof is fixed at the shutter 300, that is, at a protrusion portion 313. A coil spring can be used as the elastic member 311.

[0044] In the present invention, the elastic member 311 is installed to apply a force in a direction that the opening portion 221 is opened. But differently, the elastic member can be installed to apply a force in a direction that the opening portion 221 is shut.

[0045] The operating unit can be constructed in various ways by those with an ordinary skill in the art the present invention pertains to, and in the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, the operating unit is formed as a shutter fixing hook 215 which usually fixes the shutter 300 to be maintained in a closing state and interworks with the protrusion 410 formed at the mounting unit when the disk cartridge is mounted on the mounting unit.

[0046] That is, a fixing jaw 320 is formed at the shutter 300 so that the shutter 300 is usually maintained in the closing state as the fixing jaw 320 is hooked at the shutter fixing hook 215. Meanwhile, when the disk cartridge is mounted at the mounting unit, the shutter fixing hook 215 is pushed inwardly of the main body 210 by the protrusion portion 410 formed at the mounting unit, to release the fixing jaw 320 from the hooking state, and then, the shutter 300 is moved in a direction that it is opened by the elastic force of the elastic member 311.

[0047] In case that the disk cartridge is intended to be separated from the mounting unit, a member for pushing the shutter 300 in a direction that it is shut can be additionally installed at the mounting unit, whereby the shutter 300 can shut the opening portion 221.

[0048] The disk cartridge constructed as described above and the operation of the data medium having the disk cartridge will now be described in detail.

[0049] First, in a state where the data recording/reproducing device is mounted at the mounting unit, that is, in case that the data medium is separately kept or carried out, as shown in FIG. 7, the shutter 300 is maintained to shut the opening portion 221. Accordingly, any foreign material is prevented from being introduced into the disk cartridge, thereby protecting the disk 100.

[0050] When the data medium is mounted at the mounting unit of the data recording/reproducing device to record/reproduce data into/from the disk 100, as shown in FIG. 6, the shutter interworks with the mounting unit to open the opening portion 221 according to operation of the shutter opening and shutting portion 310.

[0051] Accordingly, the pickup unit 400 (especially the pickup unit using the swing-arm method) is smoothly moved to record/reproduce data onto/from the disk 100.

[0052] As so far described, the data medium having the disk cartridge in accordance with the present invention usually prevents inflow of the foreign material while it does not interrupt movement of the pickup unit for recording/reproducing data.

[0053] Moreover, the data medium having the disk cartridge in accordance with the present invention has such an advantage that the opening portion is formed suitable to the switching-arm method, and in addition to this, the linear portion is formed enlarged suitable to the thread method, so that the data medium can be used for both methods.

[0054] As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalence of such metes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A disk cartridge comprising: a disk housing including a disk receiving unit for rotatably receiving a disk and an opening portion formed at a portion corresponding to a hub of the disk and formed where a pickup unit for recording/reproducing data to/from the disk while being rotationally moved on the disk moves; and, a shutter for opening and shutting the opening portion.
 2. A disk cartridge of claim 1, wherein the disk housing comprises: a main body having an opening in which the disk is inserted; a lower plate coupled at a lower surface of the main body; and an upper plate coupled to an upper surface of the main body and having the opening portion.
 3. The disk cartridge of claim 2, wherein a guide portion is formed at the side of the main body in order to guide movement of a shutter opening portion.
 4. The disk cartridge of claim 2, wherein the lower plate includes an auxiliary opening portion formed to open a hub of the disk in order for a rotating unit for rotating the disk to fix the disk at both upper side and lower side.
 5. The disk cartridge of claim 4, wherein the shutter simultaneously opens and shuts the auxiliary opening portion.
 6. The disk cartridge of claim 2, wherein the main body and the lower plate are integrally formed.
 7. The disk cartridge of claim 2, wherein the side portion of the main body corresponding to a movement interval of the pickup unit as high as the disk surface so that the pickup unit may not be interrupted in a vertical direction of a rotational shaft of the disk.
 8. The disk cartridge of claim 1, wherein the disk housing includes a head parking unit on which a head of the pickup unit is parked.
 9. The disk cartridge of claim 1, wherein the disk housing includes a shutter opening and shutting unit to open and shut the opening portion by interworking with the mounting unit of the disk cartridge.
 10. The disk cartridge of claim 9, wherein the shutter opening and shutting unit comprises: an elastic member for applying a force to the shutter so that the opening portion is closed; and a moving portion for moving the shutter in a direction that the shutter is opened by interworking with the mounting unit when being mounted at the mounting unit.
 11. The disk cartridge of claim 9, wherein the shutter opening and shutting unit comprises: an elastic member for applying a force to the shutter so that the opening portion is opened; and an operating unit for fixing the shutter so that the shutter opening and shutting unit is maintained in a state of shutting the opening portion, and interworking with the mounting unit when being mounted at the mounting unit in order to release the shutter from the fixing state and move the shutter in an opening direction.
 12. A recording medium having a disk and a disk cartridge, the disk cartridge comprising: a disk housing including a disk receiving unit for rotatably receiving a disk and an opening portion formed at a portion corresponding to a hub of the disk and formed where a pickup unit for recording/reproducing data to/from the disk while being rotationally moved on the disk moves; and a shutter for opening and shutting the opening portion. 